Recognizing the problems of reading instruction as a major challenge in education, Educational Professions Development Act (EPDA) Institutes of recent years have funded several programs to develop new methods and materials for teaching in inner-city schools. The project reported here is an EPDA Institute for teachers of disadvantaged children in the cities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wheeling, West Virginia, and Youngstown, Ohio. The program emphasized equally the cognitive and affective aspects of learning. Two summer workshops and a year of on-site supervision in the classroom provided suggestions for developing programs to test in the classrooms. During the winter session, the Institute staff visited with the participants in the classroom, providing an opportunity for staff and participants to cooperate in testing and developing reading programs. Experiences of a workshop nature were offered the second summer to provide participants an opportunity to individualize their programs. Workshop experiences included: a materials-method area; an interpersonal experiences area; a media area which used video-taped equipment as a means of examining classroom interactions; and, materials and methods evaluation. (Author/JM)